Teardowns in Atlanta’s Historic Neighborhoods
The Story
Atlanta is home to 54 historic districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These districts represent the evolution of architecture and urban development in the years immediately following the Civil War through the mid-20th century. Of these districts, only 17 are locally designated by the City of Atlanta as Landmark or Historic Districts, offering extra layers of protection, enhancement and perpetuation of Atlanta’s cultural, social, economic and architectural history.
The Threat
Like many cities, Atlanta saw a significant number of foreclosures, vacancies and reduced real estate values after the housing market crash in 2008. This left the existing housing stock of Atlanta’s historic intown neighborhoods particularly vulnerable to demolition and redevelopment. With a rebounding housing market and a renewed desire by many to relocate to intown Atlanta, traditional, single-family homes in historic neighborhoods are routinely purchased by speculative developers and demolished to make way for new construction – often without regard to the traditional size, scale or architectural designs of existing neighborhood.